Oil-well equipment.



J. HAHN.

OIL WELLEQUIPIVIENT. APPLICATION FILED DEc.22. |915.

Patented Deo. 5, 1916.

JOHN HAHN, 0F LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

01h-WELL EQUIIPMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dee.. 5, tdlt.

Application filed December 22, 1915. SerialNo. 68,173.

To all 'wlw/m t may concern f Be it known that l, JOHN HAHN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angoles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful il-l/Vell Equipment, of which the following is a specification.

rlhis invention relates to oil well equipment designed to pump oil from the earth and an object of the invention is to e'ect the pumping operation by a construction that will produce minimum disturbance of the oil and minimum liability of producing sanding of the well and of the producing strata in the immediate vicinity of the. well.

Another object of this invention is to effect the foregoing .by a comparatively sirnple and inexpensive construction.

ianother object is to cre/atea reservoir of oil near the bottom of the well so that there will be at all times considerable hydrostatic pressure outward against the oil in the producing strata in order that operation of the pump piston will not produce excessive suction on the producing strata and therebyl allow the hydrostatic pressure in the producing strata to force quantities of loosened sand into the well and thereby causev it to be plugged up by the sand.

Other obI'ects and advantages may be dis closed hereinafter.

rl`he accompanying drawings illustrate the invention.

Figure 1 is an elevation mainly in vertical mid section of a well equipment built in accordance with this invention, portions at intervals being' broken away to contract the view. Fig. 2 is a reduced elevation partly in section of the gas trap and support shown in Fig. 1 together with a fragment of the well casing. Fig. 8 is an enlarged broken sectional elevation of the gas trap and support together with fragments of the well casing in lvertical mid section. lfig. is a plan section on line indicated by .m4-m4, Fig. 3, the well casing being omitted. Fig. 5 is a plan section on line indicated hy @aL-fc5, li ig. 3. Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional elevation of eitherone of the valve cages and its parts.

'll here is provided a well casing l. having oil inlet perforations Q adapted to let the oil into the casing from the producing strata. ylhe upper end of the casing l. is provided with a casing head 5l from which gas can be discharged through a pipe 3 connected to the casing head. lnside of the casing 1 is a tubular discharge conduit in the form of pump tubing et which passes through the casing head 51 and is connected by a ll' 5 to an oil discharge pipe line 6 discharging below the surface of the oil in a closed reservoir or tank i', portions only of which are shown, .said tank being provided with a cover 8 through which a gas outlet tube 9 passes to let gases escape from the `tank 7.

rl`he oil discharge pipe 6 is provided between the 'l' 5 and tank 7 with an oil stand pipe or reservoir 10 closed at its upper end by a cap 11 0r equivalent.

The pump tubing l is provided with a working barrel or pump cylinder 12 in which works a. piston 13, said piston and said cylinder being each provided with a valve cage 1l. Each valve cage 14 is provided internally with a detachable valve seat 15 held in place by a nut 16, there being inside of each valve cage a valve ball l? to close onto its seat 15. Each valve cage llt is provided at its longitudinal axis with a pin 1S fastened into said valve cage and proieeting interi'orly thereof, the inner projecting end forming a guide stein for a ballcentering block 19 whichwis provided with hole Q0 to' accommodate the pin 18 so that the block 19 can slide up and down on the i pin when it is lifted by and falls with the valve ball 1'?. Each hlock 19 is provided at its lower hall-engaging end with a concave seat 21 adapted to fit or approximately fit the spherical surface of the ball 17 and is provided in its upper end or liquid pressure receiving face with an annular recess 22 adapted to be acted on by the oil column above the block passing tirough openings of the valve cage, said openings extend ing above the level of the pressure-receiving face 22 at all times, even when the block 19 is in its uppermost position. by reason of the said block having a hub 2li extending above the pressure face 22 and adapted to engage an annular shoulder Q5, surrounding the pin 18, when the block 19 is in said. uppermost position. vThe bloclr 19 is preferably made of a` non-magnetizalole substance such, for instance7 as brass.

rllhe foregoing described construction of the valves is of advantage for the reason that there is great tendency for the valve loo ne. f

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ward and extends t of the valve ball 17 from balls to stick to the cage owing to the fact that from some cause not known to me the cages becolne magnetized and consequently attract the valve balls and hold them in open position so that they do not quickly close when back pressure of the oil comes on them. I obviate the sticking by providing the block 19 and making the same of a non-magnetizable substance. also acts as a Weight to aid in quick closing open position. The lower end of the cylinder 12 is inserted in a pump seat 26 which connects said cylinder to a tubular discharge pipe 27 of a gas trap which is constructed as follows: The discharge member 27 'is screwthreaded into a tubular head 28 provided with a downwardly and inwardly directed port or ports 29 which communicate withl the interior of a tubular perforated member 30 that is screw-threaded into the lower end of said head 28 and that is intermediate of an outer imperforate tubular member 31 and inner imperforate member 32, said tubular member 30 being provided with inwardly contracted or outwardly expanding perforations 33 arranged in spiral formation circumferentially. The inner tubular member 32 is screw-threaded into a reduced neck 34 of the head and passes downh a reduced neck g y 35 of a lower head 36 into which is screwtbular member.

threaded the lower end of the intermediate tubular member 30. The lower head 36 is provided adjacent the neck 35 with a downwardlyand inwardly directed port or ports 37, and the head 28 and head 36 are provided with annular circumferential grooves 38 adjacent annular shoulders 39 of the heads 28, 36 respectively, said annular grooves 38 being provided with packing 40 adapted to pack the j ointssbet'ween the outer member 31 and the heads.28,f36 to prevent leakage, and said heads 28 and 36 being inserted in and tightly fitting the opposite ends of the outer tubular member, and said packing 40 being compressed between4 the shoulders 39 and the ends ofthe outer Into the lower end of the lower head 36 is screw-threaded a tube 41 surrounding the lower portion ofthe inner tubular member 32 and communicating through the ports 37 with the interior member 31 and provided at its lowerend with a closure in the formof a cap or plug 42 to form the lower portion of a reservoir of which the upper portion is formed .by the intermediate and outer tubular mem bers 30, 31 and head 28. Onto the lower end of the head 36 is screw-threadeda centering support constructed as will now be described. Said' support comprises end hubs 43, 44 and resilient spaced apart in wardly bowed spring arms 45 extending The block 19 A49 to operating means as a oil will iow from the of the outer tubular' its outer face .47 curved to tit or substantially it the inside face of the casing l, sai-d spring arm being compressed, as in solid lines in Fig. 3, when the faces 47 are in engagement with the inside surface of the casing so that the expansive force of ,the spring arm's is exerted to produce a large amount of friction between the frictional faces 47 and well casing and thus support lcentrally in the casing whatever elements are connected to the support. Dotted lines in Fig. 3 indicate positions thespring arms assume when saidy upport is removed from the casing or any ubular member tending to compress said spring arms.

The upper hub 43 is screw-threaded onto the lower end of the lower head 36 and the lower hub 44 `is screw-threaded onto a tube 48 surrounding and spaced apart from the tube 41 and having its lower end somewhat above the level of the'lower closed end of said tube 41 as in Fig. 1.

From the foregoing it is seen that between the outer tubular member 31 and intermediate tubular member 30 is formed an annular chamber b communicating through the ports 37 with the interior of the tube 41 and that between the intermediate tubular member 30 and inner tubular member 32 there is formed an' annular chamber c communicating through the perforations 33 with the chamber b and communicating through the ports 29 with the outside of the gas trap. The perforations 33 are in thepl wer half of the tubular member 30, see Fig. 2. The upper valve cage 14 is connected by a sucker line walking bea 50 or equivalent.

In practice a well will be equipped with the device as shown and the oil will enter the casing through the perforati'ons 2 an interior of the casing through the parts 29 into the chamber c and through perforations 33 into the chamber b, thence through ports 37 into the space d between the tube 41 and inner tubular member 32, and thence into ythe lower open end of the inner member 32 and said oil will rise in said inner tubular member through the tube 27 into the pump cylinder 12 to the same level as the oil in the casing. The piston will be operated through its sucker line 49 and the walking beam 50 so as to lift the oil in the pump tubing and force said oil through the pipe line 6 into the tank 7. The flow ofoil is stabilized by reason of the stand pipe 10 and also by reabubbles of gas Laer/,eee

ward in a direction opposite to, the flow of the oil through the gas trap and `it is also noted that the perforations 33 are reduced inwardly so as to allow the bubbles of gas rising in the chamber b to flow without hi`ndrance therethrough into the chamber c from whence said bubbles can escape through ports 29, said escape being facilitated by reason of said ports 29 slanting upward and outward.

The foregoing construction is of advantage in minimizing the amount of gas that can pass from the interior of the casing to the pump cylinder and its piston thus preventing to a great extent compression of a body of gas within the cylinder and piston tending to prevent edective pumping action of the piston on the oil as is readily understood. The yvalve balls 17 will act quickly because of provision of the non-magnetizable blocks '19. It is also seen that liability oi" the piston to produce an undesirable excessive suction on the oil bearing strata is mini@ mized, thereby minimizingliability of plugging the well and producing strata adjacent the well with sand which otherwise would tend to be drawn in by the suction.

The tube 48 acts as a' weight to tend to elongate the centering support and thereby force the bosses i6 tightly against the well casing,vthus aiding the expansive torce of the arms to create friction between the bosses and casing so as to clutch the support to the inside of the casing.

As seen in Fig. 2 by tar the greater portion of the intermediate tubular member 30, in this instance about two thirds, is above the pertorations 33, and this provision isv so as to insure that at each stroke of the piston the oil in the chamber E will continue to cover the peritorations so that gas will not enter the chamber Z through said perforal tions from the chamber c, thus practically excluding gas from the pump barrel. The provision of the reservoir or chamber b also insures unitorm flow of the oil to the pump barrel and avoidance of its flow in surges, such surges being detrimental as they produce agitation and consequent emulsitication of the oil when water is present and also lower the pressure at intervals so as to,

tree the lighter gaseous hydrocarbons dissolved in the oil and of great value.

The foregoing will enable those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains to make and use said invention.

l claim:

l. ln combination, inner, outer and intermediate tubular members'spaced apart from one another to form annular chambers, the intermediate tubular member having peritorations, a head closing the upper ends oi' said chambers and provided with a port communicating with the interiorl ont' the inner chamber, a head closing the lower ends of the chambers and provided with a port communicating with the outer chamber, a tube extending down from the lower head and closed at its lower end and having its upper end communicating with the port in the lower head, said inner tubular member extending through the lower head, pump tubing connected to the upperhead and provided with a cylinder, a piston in the cylinder, and means to operate said piston.

2. ln combination, pump tubing having a cylinder, a piston in said cylinder, means to operate said piston, well casing, a centering support connected to said tubing, said support comprising tubular end hubs and resilient inwardly bowed spring arms extend ing from hub to hub and said spring arms being provided with outwardly pro]ecting bosses to frictionally engage the inside surface of the well casing, and means tending to straighten said spring arms so as to hold the bosses tightly against the casing.

3. ln combination, pump tubing, means forming a reservoir, means connecting the reservoir to the lower end of the pump tubing, said reservoirl having a liquid-sealed inlet port and extending a substantial distance above said port, an oil discharge pipe connected to the upper end of the pump tub-r ing, and a stand pipe connected to said oil discharge pipe to minimize uctuation of pressure in the reservoir.

4. lln combination, pump outer and intermediate tubular members spaced apart from one another to form annular chambers, the intermediate tubular member having perforations, a head. closing the upper ends `of said Achambers and provided with a port communicating with the interior of the inner chamber and connected to the pump tubing,'a head closing the lower ends of the chambers and provided with a port communicating with the outer chamber, and a tubel extending down from the lower head and closed at its lower end and having its upper end communicating with the port in the lower head, said inner tubular member extending through the lower head.

5. In combination, inner, louter and intermediate members spaced apart rom oneanother to form annular chambers, the intermediate tubular member having outwardly expanding perforations, a head closing the upper ends of said chambers and provided with a port communicating with the interior of the inner chamber, a head closing the lower ends of the Ichambers and provided withv a port communicating with the outer chamber, a tube extending down Jfrom the lower head and closedat its lower end and having its upper end communicating with vthe port in the lower head, said inner tubu lar member extending through the lower head, pump tubing connected to the Aupper head and provided with a cylinder, a piston tubing, inner,

iso f';

pum-p tubing,

in the cylinder, and means lto operate said piston. y

6. In combination, inner, outer and intermediate tubular members spaced apart from one another to form annular chambers, the intermediate tubular member having perforations, a head closing the upper ends of said chambers and provided with a port communicating with the interior of the inner chamber, a head closing the lower ends of the chambers'and provided with a port communicating with' the outer chamber, a tube extending down from the lower head and closed at its lower end and having its upper end communicating with the port in the lower head, said inner tubular member extending through the lower head, pump tubing connected to the upper head and provided with a cylinder, a piston in thecylinder, and means to operate said piston.

7. In combination, inner, outer and intermediate tubular members spaced apart from one another to form annular chambers, the intermediate tubular member having perforations, a head closing the upper ends of said chambers and provided with an upwardly and outwardly slanting port communicating with the interior of the inner chamber, a head closing the lower ends of the chambers and provided with an upwardly and outwardly slanting port communicating with the outer chamber, a tube extending down from the lower head and fclosed at its lower end and having its upper end' communicating with the port in the lower head, said inner tubular member extending through the lower head, pump tubing connected to the upper head and provided with a cylinder,'a piston in the cylinder, and means to operate said piston.

8. In combination, casing, pump tubing in the casing, a gas trap connected to the a centering support on the gas trap, and means operating by its weight to hold the centering support friction tight in the easing.

9. In combination, casing, pump tubing in the casing,a gas trap connected to the pump tubing, and a friction supported centering device in fixed relation with the gas trap to support the gas trap in the casing.

10. In combination, pumpl tubing, means forming a reservoir, said reservoir having an inlet port near its upper end only and the upper portion of said reservoir being formed by intermediate and outer tubular members, a tubular member communicating at its lower end with said reservoir, and means connecting the tubular member and reservoir to the pump tubing.

11. In combination, an upper head, a lower head having a neck, an inner tubular member fastened to the upper head and passing through said neck of the lower head, other tubular members, concentric with the inner tubular member and lspaced from one another to form a chamber-one of said other tubular members having screw-threaded connection with the upper and lower heads, and the other one of said other tubular members loosely engaging each of said heads, the upper head having a port communicating with the interior of the intermediate tubular inember, and the lower head having a port opening from said chamber to the inside of the head below said neck, and the intermediate tubular member having perforations, a cylinder connected to the upper head, a piston in said cylinder, and means to operate said piston.

12. In combination, tubular heads having annular `grooves and having ports pening therethrough, packing in the annular grooves, concentric tubular members extending from head to head, the inner tubular member opening through both heads and one of the other tubular members having screw-threaded engagement with each of said heads and the third one of said tubular members engaging the packing in the grooves and the intermediate member having perforations, a cylinder connected to one of said heads, a piston in the cylinder, and means to operate said piston.

13. In combination, tubular heads having annular shoulders and annular grooves adjacent said shoulders and having ports opening therethrough, packing in the annular grooves and projecting therefrom concentric, tubular members extending from head to head, said heads closing the ends of two of the tubular members, and the inner tubular member opening through both heads and one of the other two tubular members having screwthreaded engagement with each of said pearls and the other of the two tubular members having its ends compressing the projecting parts of the packing against said shoulders, a cylinder connected to one of said heads, a piston in the cylinder, and means to operate said piston.

14. In combination, a gas trap having a tubular perforated member and having a tubular imperforate member surrounding and spaced apart from the perforated member and extending for a substantial distance above the level of the perforations in the tubular member, tubular heads at the ends of the tubular members, one of said heads having a port opening from its exterior and communicating with the interior of the perforated member and the other head having a port communicating with the space between the tubular members and with the interior of said other' head, a cylinder connected to one of said heads, a piston in said cylinder, and means to operate said pistonn 15. In combination, pump tubing, means forming a reservoir, and means connecting the reservoir to the lower end of the pump tubing, said reservoir having a liquidsealed inlet port and extending a substantial distance above said port.

1G. In combination, a tubular member, a support having bowed arms provided with bosses engaging said tubular member, and a weight connected to said support tending to straighten Said arms to prevent relative endwise movement between said support and tubular member.

17; In combination, inner, outer and intermediate tubular membersl spaced apart from one another to form annular chambers, the intermediate tubular member having perforations, a head closing the upper ends of said chambers and provided with a port communicating with the interior of the inner chamber, a head closing the lower ends of the chambers and provided with a port communicating with the outer chamber, a tube extending down from the lower head and closed at its lower end and having its upper end communicating with the port in the lower head, said inner tubular member eX- tending through the lower head, and pump tubing connected to the upper head.

Signed at Los Angeles, California, this 17th day'of December, 1915.

JOHN HAHN. Witnesses:

GEORGE H. Hnins, A. F. SCHMIDTBAUER. 

